Psalm 139:23-24
Picture God looking at you — gently gazing into your eyes, full of compassion, love, and delight. He sees and knows every single part of you; your hands, your feet, your facial expressions, your entire body — after all, He created you! And he is rightfully proud of His creation! Does this feel overwhelming? Can you picture your Creator knowing and loving you far better than you could know or love yourself?
Now picture God looking far into your soul, searching the deepest recesses that you dare not even consider yourself — your thoughts, motives, fears, worries, hopes, and failures. Do you know that He cares just as much for the inside parts of you as He does the outside? He sees your anger, and he sees the pain, sadness, disappointment, and poor choices from which that anger came. He sees your pride, and he cares deeply for your striving self that desperately searches for approval. He sees your hopes and shattered dreams — the failures that not only brought you to the desperate place you thought you’d never be but have also impacted those you love. He sees your sorrow, and he cries with you, storing your anguish, your tears, in a bottle.
In Psalm 139, David calls himself God’s masterpiece. He praises God, acknowledges God’s thoughts for him as His precious creation, and he’s honest about his disdain for his enemies. David doesn’t mask his emotions but cries out in vulnerability. Then in verse 23-24, he says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
David experiences freedom when he names his deepest feelings in the presence of his trusted God. He knows that something isn’t right within him, and he knows that he needs healing; so, he calls out in vulnerability to the One who already knows and still loves. Author David Benner says, “For love to transform us, not only must we meet in vulnerability, but we must also linger long enough for it to penetrate our woundedness.” The freedom David longs for comes when he goes on to say, “Search me.” Healing has begun as David is being transformed by God’s love.
What within you is crying out for healing? What part of you longs to be known? Your God already knows it all, and He longs to bring healing to your soul. Maybe today, you could start by simply saying, “Search me.”
Lynette Fuson
Care & Counseling Director